Private health insurance while TTC

Hi everyone,
I just had a quick question for those with private health insurance.

At what stage during your pregnancy did you first rely on your insurance?

I somewhat foolishly thought to myself "12 month waiting period, 9 months pregnant...ok only need to sign up 3 months before TTC"....except I had a moment of clarity the other day when I realised that, you know, there's a lot that happens in those 9 months! :P anyway I am trying to organise this week but wanted to TTC from around May 2016. Now wondering if it is worthwhile waiting a few more months to be on the safe side.

For me I had a missed miscarriage at 8 weeks and needed a D & C asap - doc called the specialist, I had my appointment that afternoon and surgery in private hospital the next morning. All covered by private health. So whilst I hope you are never in this situation, it helps to be covered from the start.

This pregnancy it meant I was able to go in for an early scan at 6 weeks with my preferred obstetrician. I'm uncertain whether not having cover would have changed this as the first visit was covered by Medicare anyway.

For our private hospital (unsure if they are all the same) you need to book in no later than 20 weeks and you must have your pregnancy cover then as they will assess your eligibility and you have to pay your excess that far ahead (assuming you have an excess, most people do).

FYI you will still be out of pocket for pregnancy management fee for your private obstetrician too. That is only partially covered by Medicare and not by any private health. The private health will cover your OB costs at your birth only. Worth calling your local OB and checking their pricing structure.

Private health insurance

Private health insurance will only cover you for services in hospital anyway, so in the case Sunnygirl gave above it won't make a difference if you have the cover or not to see a specialist in their room.
If something happens during the pregnancy and you end up in early labour then it will be at the discretion of your health fund if they waive the waiting periods. From what I've read a lot of them will if it was unexpected (ie early labour) but best to check. That said, if you are seriously threatening early labour before 30 weeks you probably will be in a public hospital anyway with a good nicu unit attached incase Bub arrives this early. In this instance you might qualify for a private room if you have private health insurance, or you can stay in the normal rooms and be covered under the public system.

That said, if you can afford it now and know that you want to go private when you do get pregnant I would get the cover so you don't need to worry about it if you do need to use it.

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